NRL results: Gold Coast Titans break 364 day drought in brave win over Wests Tigers

They’ve waited one day short of a year to celebrate a victory but the Gold Coast Titans are back. And the much maligned Ash Taylor was the man pulling the strings. WHAT WE LEARNED.

Ashley Taylor got his groove back against the Tigers. Picture: Getty

It has been 364 days since the Gold Coast Titans last tasted victory.

But they made every second of those 12 months count on Sunday night as they finally delivered a win in spectacular fashion at Suncorp Stadium, defeating Wests Tigers 28-23.

Phillip Sami will go down as the hero who scored the winning try, snatching the four points off the back of a desperate Brian Kelly kick in the dying minutes.

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Titans players react after Phillip Sami scored the winning try. Picture: AAP Image/Dan Peled

But really, every single Titans player poured their heart and soul into that win.

It was the first NRL victory for coach Justin Holbrook and it has lifted the Titans off the bottom of the ladder and ended an absolute horror run for the embattled club.

They were staring down the barrel of their 15th straight loss, but it was clear from midway through the first half that the Titans were not going to go down without a fight.

The Tigers raced out to a 12-0 lead, but the Titans fought back to go into halftime locked at 12-all.

It was the kind of fight and composure that fans and critics alike have been waiting to see from the Gold Coast for a long time.

Anthony Don flies high to grab the ball and score a try for the Titans. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Holbrook admitted after the match that he was worried by the start, but thought the team showed a resilience he had not seen yet and it will give their self-confidence a boost.

“It’s obviously great to get the win and also in that fashion,” Holbrook said.

“I wasn’t thinking, ‘here we go again’ (at 12-0) but I was definitely not happy with that. Now that we have hindsight, it’s great we could show that resilience to keep fighting back. That’s the most pleasing thing.

“I was always confident we were going to give it our best shot.

“We were none from three. To get off the mark is great.

“They can show that if you keep hanging in there and working harder, you can get the result you need. It’s only a start but it was an important win.”

Their efforts appeared doomed when once again the Tigers put on two quick tries in the second stanza, taking a 22-12 lead by the 53rd minute.

But it was million dollar man Ash Taylor who helped bring his team back into the game.

While Keegan Hipgrave scored just before the 60th minute, Taylor equalised the game with 10 minutes to go, putting through a perfectly placed grubber for Kelly.

It all seemed over for the Titans when veteran Tigers playmaker Benji Marshall kicked a field goal with just three minutes left on the clock, but the Gold Coast were not done yet.

Benji Marshall almost sealed the game for the Tigers with a late field goal. Picture: AAP Image/Dan Peled

Holbrook’s message before kick off was to play smart.

And that’s what the Titans did as they raced away with the win.

It wasn’t always perfect – it was messy and chaotic.

But it’s exactly what the Titans needed to kick start their season.

They still have a long way to go, but as the only Queensland team to claim a victory in the NRL this weekend, there will be plenty for the Titans to celebrate.

They fought hard, showed plenty of grit and a great amount of heart.

It was a real show of resilience that they have not always displayed and the key for the Titans now will be to build upon this as they turn their attention to the Rabbitohs on Saturday.

SCOREBOARD

GOLD COAST 28 (A Don K Hipgrave B Kelly K Proctor P Sami tries A Taylor 4 goals) bt WESTS TIGERS 23 (D Nofoaluma 2 A Doueihi J Leilua tries B Marshall 3 goals B Marshall field goal) at Suncorp Stadium. Referee: Adam Gee

Ashley Taylor got his groove back against the Tigers. Picture: Getty

FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED

1 – Welcome back to the winner’s circle, Gold Coast Titans. It has been nearly a year since the Titans last tasted victory – June 9, 2019 to be exact - but the win over the Tigers last night has saved them from notching up the unwanted record. They were facing 15 straight losses, but showed plenty of heart and composure to snatch the last minute win. Take a bow, Justin Holbrook.

2 – The Titans’ million dollar man, Ash Taylor, showed plenty of promising signs last night. Justin Holbrook took the No.7 jersey off Taylor to give him more time to just play football and leave the organising to Jamal Fogarty. That decision reaped rewards Sunday night. Taylor didn’t start strongly, but worked his way into the game and was one of the most threatening Titans’ players on the field.

3 – Outside of Taylor, Moeaki Fotuaika was an absolute standout for the Titans. He ran for 161m – the most of any Gold Coast player – and stepped up in defence too with an impressive 25 tackles. He is consistently one of the Titans’ best and is still improving.

4 – Finding the right No.9 has been hard work for the Titans. Erin Clark put forward his case last night and was solid without being spectacular. He made several errors but defended well in the middle. He should get another chance next week against the Rabbitohs.

5 – Harry Grant was the most dangerous player for the Tigers last night and the good news is, he’s a Queenslander. It was the wrong decision to take him off the field midway through the second half. But with incumbent Maroons hooker Ben Hunt under pressure to hold his position, Rockhampton product Grant could definitely put pressure on the likes of Reed Mahoney and Jake Friend to clinch the No.9 jersey.

Originally published as NRL results: Gold Coast Titans break 364 day drought in brave win over Wests Tigers